This invention is in the field of medical therapy equipment, and particularly relates to equipment for maintaining traction on a patient, for treating back, hip, leg and other injuries.
Patient traction has generally been accomplished with weights. If a traction force of ten pounds, for example, is prescribed for a patient, a ten pound weight is used. The weights are attached to one or more ropes or lines engaged over pulleys.
While this conventional system of weight-imposed traction is simple in concept and has been relatively effective, it has had several shortcomings. If the traction force is to be adjusted, more or fewer weights must be attached to the traction line, and a set of weights of various sizes must be kept for this purpose. Also, certain types of traction require the pulling force to be applied from an unusual angle, so that a longer line is required, along with an elevated pulley. Two pulleys may be required to avoid having the weights in an obtrusive position. The tension rope may stretch along several lines, reducing somewhat access to the patient. Also, weight-imposed traction apparatus is not easily portable, requiring rather complex setup of the frame and pulley apparatus.
Further, it is often required that the traction pulling force be adjusted, particularly to alleviate patient discomfort. With the system of weights and pulleys, this requires the assistance of an attending physician or nurse, who might not always be readily available. It is not possible in most circumstances for the patient to adjust the traction weights.
Some forms of electromechanical traction devices have also been known and used. In one type of mechanical traction unit, a motorized device was settable to exert a traction pulling force on a patient intermittently. However, the unit was not as versatile and fail-safe as the device of the present invention, and it was not controllable by the patient.
It is an object of the invention described herein to overcome these problems and to provide a simple but automated traction pulling device which is very easily adjusted, by either an attending doctor or professional or by the patient himself, to increase or decrease traction force or to induce a selected numerical level of traction force.